


The Waiting is the Hardest Part

by frecklesarechocolate



Series: Ella!Verse [10]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Babies, Domestic Fluff, M/M, Schmoop
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-06-04
Updated: 2013-06-04
Packaged: 2017-12-13 21:58:48
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,405
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/829339
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/frecklesarechocolate/pseuds/frecklesarechocolate
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What comes after the home study.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Waiting is the Hardest Part

“Uh huh. Okay. Yeah. Great. Thank you. Next week will be fine. Yep. Thanks again. Bye.” Dean’s on the phone in the kitchen, and Ella and Cas are huddled around him. The social worker had called. Again.

Dean hangs up and he stares at Ella and Cas.

Finally, unable to stand it any longer, Ella flaps her arms in the air. “Well?!?” 

Dean considers holding out on them, to see how much longer he can string them along, but then he remembers Cas’s near panic attack on the day of the home study, and he remembers how perfect Ella had been that day, so he just grins. “We’re approved.”

Ella shrieks and begins jumping up and down, and Cas sags in relief. He pulls Dean to him and hugs Dean hard, squeezing the air of out of him. “Thank goodness,” Cas says. “Thank you. I was certain…” he’s muttering into Dean’s shoulder, and Dean hugs him back, laughing (and maybe crying a little bit too). 

Ella’s saying, “Yay! Yay! Yay!” at the top of her lungs, and she’s still bouncing around the kitchen. A little worried that she’s going to bump into something, Cas lets go of Dean long enough to snag her around the waist and pull her into a hug with Dean. Neither Cas nor Dean can really blame her, they kind of feel like screaming and jumping around too, but someone has to act like an adult. They’re one big giant hug and no one seems to want to let go.

“We need to call uncle Sam and aunt Sarah and Mary!” Ella says, her voice muffled by Dean’s arm. Then, as if suddenly struck by the thought, she says, “I’m going to be a big sister!” Her voice is filled with wonder, as if it hadn’t occurred to her that this would be the end result. “Daddy! Papa! I’m going to be a big sister!” She’s so excited that she starts bouncing again. “I wanna call Mary right now. Can I call Mary please?”

Dean and Cas let her go, and Dean hands her the phone. She squeals and dashes into the living room with it. Before too long, they can hear her chattering away excitedly with her cousin.

Dean and Cas collapse into the chairs around the kitchen table. Cas threads his fingers with Dean’s. Neither of them can seem to stop smiling. “What was that about next week?” Cas asks.

“Oh, we have to sign some paperwork. We should probably have Sam look at it first though. Social worker said she’d have a messenger bring it over for us to look at and then we’d have to go into their offices to sign it.”

Cas nods, remembering from the last time. It was much easier to get the approval this time around, thankfully, and he’s one hundred percent convinced that it’s all due to Ella, and her charm. When the social worker was at the house for the home study, she’d spent nearly an hour talking with Ella, and Ella had been the one to give her the tour of the house. She showed the social worker Dean and Cas’s study, and explained how they were going to make that into a nursery for the baby, and she’d shown the social workers all her toys and her little desk where she did her spelling homework. She’d explained that she really liked spelling, but not math, and she loved to read. 

In other words, Ella had been the star of the show.

Cas says as much to Dean, who grins. “Absolutely, man. We should do something special for her. Maybe we can convince Sam and Sarah and Mary to meet us somewhere for dinner.”

Cas lights up. “That’s a great idea.”

Dean gets up. “Hey, Ella! Is uncle Sam at home? Ask Mary if I can talk to him.”

* * *

 

They decide to meet at a small Italian restaurant that’s about halfway between their houses, as luck would have it, given that Sam, Sarah and Mary live across the state line from Dean, Cas and Ella. Mary and Ella huddle at one end of the table, sharing an enormous plate of lasagne between them. 

“So what are the next steps?” Sarah asks.

Cas answers, “Waiting, mostly. We’ve got some paperwork we need you to look at Sam.” Sam nods, mouth full of spaghetti. “It could be just a few weeks, or it could be months. No telling.”

Sam finishes his spaghetti. “Dude,” he says to Dean. “I can’t believe you’re having another kid.”

Dean smiles and shrugs. “Why?”

“It’s just so…” Sam seems about to say something, when Sarah lays her hand on his wrist and murmurs his name. He clears his throat. “Domestic.”

Cas laughs and Sarah rolls her eyes. “Says the man who arrived here in a minivan,” Dean says. “At least we still have Baby.”

“Yeah, whatever,” Sam replies. “You’re paying for dinner.”

“What? We’re about to become fathers! We’ve got a growing family. You should pay.”

“You asked us!” Sam says.

Sarah leans over to Cas. “They haven’t changed.” 

Cas smiles and shakes his head ruefully. “No, not really. I hope it won’t rub off on Ella.” They look down at the end of the table at Ella and Mary, who are deeply engrossed in their own conversation.

“It won’t. You and Dean have done such a wonderful job with her.” Sarah sees Cas looking doubtful. “You have. She’s wonderful, Cas.”

“It’s mostly Dean,” Cas says, scrubbing the back of his neck. He can’t quite raise his eyes to meet Sarah’s.

Sarah puts her hand on Cas’s. “It’s both of you.” She overhears Dean say something that sounds an awful lot like “was too!” to Sam, and snickers. “Well, maybe mostly you.” Cas bursts into laughter, which is loud enough to interrupt Sam and Dean’s bickering. Sarah and Cas exchange a look, and Sarah raises an eyebrow, which causes the two of them to burst into a fresh set of giggles. It’s enough of a distraction that Sam and Dean stop fighting, and they have pleasant conversation for the rest of dinner.

They’re in a celebratory mood, and so everyone orders dessert, even though Sarah and Cas are both convinced they couldn’t eat another bite. Ella and Mary share a slice of chocolate, and everyone else gets their own dessert.

“Oh my god, I’m stuffed,” Sarah groans when she’s about half way through her torte. Sam, whose own plate is empty, eyes hers. She catches his look and shoves it towards him. “We’re going on an extra long run tomorrow morning.” She points a finger at him. He nods and grins around his forkful of dessert.

They kiss and hug each other goodnight, get into their respective vehicles and head home. Ella, who had been so excited all day, falls asleep in her booster seat. Dean watches her sleeping in the rearview mirror.

“We’re going to need to dig out the carseat again,” he comments softly to Cas.

“And the crib. And the high chair,” Cas replies. They smile at each other.

* * *

 

Seven weeks go by after Cas and Dean sign the paperwork. Every time the phone rings, Ella looks up expectantly from whatever she’s doing, but it’s usually someone calling about Cas or Dean’s respective jobs, or it’s Sam. 

After a while, Ella stops looking hopeful when the phone rings. Dean kisses her on top of her head the first time she ignores the phone and tells her that the waiting is the worst part. She just nods miserably and goes back to her coloring.

So no one is really expecting it to happen on a Wednesday, late afternoon. The phone rings, and now no one really pays it any mind, except for Cas, who picks it up.

“Yes, this is Mr. Winchester.” Dean grins at Cas, still not over hearing him introduce himself that way, even after all this time.

“I’m sorry, what did you say?” Cas says into the phone. Dean puts down his own work and steps over to stand next to Cas. Cas frowns and shakes his head. “Oh-okay. I’m going to have to talk to my family. No, I understand. We’ll let you know as soon as possible.” Cas hangs up.

“What was that all about?” Dean asks. Ella looks up to hear Cas’s answer.

“That was the social worker. They want to know if we’d be interested in adopting twins.”


End file.
